Cable & Wireless PLC is partnering with Microsoft and Compaq Computer to launch an application service provider company called a-Services.
The new company will target businesses with 10 to 1,000 employees. It will offer hosted versions of a wide range of applications, such as Microsoft Office, security and training services, sales force automation and marketing software, e-commerce storefronts and mass file storage.
The difference between a-Services' product line and that of existing full-service ASPs is that a-Services will include network connectivity and Compaq thin-client computers, said Simon Angove, a-Services' senior director of product strategy.
Customers will be able to bring their own Internet connection, but that will yield a lesser service level agreement, he said. Customers will also be able to access the service from their current computers as of the fourth quarter.
Bringing enterprise IT 'within reach'
"We're putting what we feel is enterprise IT within the reach of any business," said Jeremy Thompson, president of a-Services.
According to Thompson, funding for the new company, which has 240 employees and is based in Houston, comes from an undisclosed research and development investment from Microsoft and a US$500 million investment from Compaq.
Pricing for the initial service will be US$169 per user, on a monthly subscription basis, or US$189 with a Microsoft Exchange feature, Angove said. The service will expand in October into the UK, into Australia later this year, and throughout parts of Europe and Asia throughout 2001, Thompson added.
Thompson said that London-based Cable & Wireless is currently working on a US$3.5 billion network and data center upgrade project to help support a-Services.
Art Williams, an analyst with Giga Information Group in Boston, said the launch is part of a new trend toward global, end-to-end ASP services.
"For me, this is an interesting part of a big story. They are a big player trying to make a big play," Williams said. "That's a distinction, and we're about to see how important it is."
While the magnitude of that importance is unclear, Williams said one thing is certain: Hosted services beginning with Microsoft Office are sure to face some pressure from the existing client/server community.
Such services have met with moderate success on a smaller, regional level. Of course, Williams said, "Microsoft has many fingers in the wind."
